Trump Delivers on Promise to End DACA Program: Where Do the DREAMers Go?

Remember that one Cinco de Mayo tweet from Donald Trump where he was enjoying an “authentic” taco bowl and giving his awkward approval with a tiny thumbs up? That’s all I can think about when he talks about Mexico paying for his wall or deporting immigrants. It’s way too funny (the picture, not deporting immigrants). Well Trump’s back at it again, hoping to deliver on a campaign promise (something he doesn’t do often) that would affect millions of immigrants.

President Trump is expected to announce the end of the DACA program this week, a signature order by former President Obama in 2012 [1]. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals allows certain young immigrants legal status if they meet a list of criteria. To get approval, the person must have been under 31 years old at the program’s enactment date, residing continuously in the United States prior to age 16, and has attended school or completed military service. These applicants have come to be called Dreamers, after the related DREAM Act that has floated around Congress for years. Since enactment, the DACA program has issued almost 800,000 approvals. Once approved, the deferred deportation lasts for two years.

The idea behind the program is to allow children and young people to stay in the United States despite their parents’ illegal immigration. Even Trump describes them as “wonderful kids” that are here at no fault of their own. They’re just trying to get an education and not hurting anybody. Before you start accusing these kids of being “bad hombres,” just know that the program specifically states they cannot have any criminal record.

So why is Donald going to punish these kids? It’s not that he hates everyone that isn’t Donald Trump . To win the election, Trump had to say a lot of things that played well with his “deplorable” fan base. That includes plenty of anti-immigrant rhetoric (i.e. Build the wall!). Trump can’t say he has fulfilled too many campaign promises, so he needs to take advantage of this slam dunk [3].

Disguising his goal of reversing Obama’s accomplishments, Trump says that immigration reform should be the job of Congress, not the President. His decision to end the DACA program will involve sending the fate of millions of immigrants to Congress. Congress… So don’t hold your breath, kids. It’ll take quite some time to get something meaningful through Congress. And once they’ve touched, do you even want it then?

President Trump is expected to formally announce his decision to terminate the DACA program Tuesday. The lives and futures of those that are approved and submitted to the program will be up in the air for a while. House Speaker Paul Ryan will be tasked to pick up the reformation of the program, after tackling tax reform, health care, building Trump’s wall, health care again, raising the debt ceiling, etcetera etcetera… Keep on dreaming, guys.

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